Advanced Gerontological Education (AGE) Inc. announced that Niagara College Canada has added GPA dementia care education to its curriculum for students in the both the Practical Nursing and Community Mental Health programs. GPA was already part of the curriculum for the Personal Support Worker program and the Gerontology grad certification program at the College. Niagara College has been offering GPA to students since 2012.
Angela Butt (MN, RN), Associate Dean of the School of Nursing and Personal Support Worker Studies, who is a GPA- certified coach, has long been a supporter of dementia education for healthcare students.
“Because dementia-related behaviours and other diseases that manifest in responsive behaviours are so prevalent in healthcare — regardless of the sector — we feel it is critical that as many people learn GPA as possible,” said Butt. “Not only do we want our graduates to be skilled in assisting clients with their physical needs, but we also want them to be skilled in fulfilling clients’ mental, psychosocial and emotional health needs as well.
“The person-centered approach of providing care with dignity and compassion is intrinsic to GPA and is one way we facilitate students in developing these skills.”
She noted that the GPA in-person classroom format — GPA Basics — was already part of the curriculum in NC’s PSW and Gerontology grad-certification programs and it has always been well-received by the students.
Butt said that the advent of COVID-19 and not being able to have students on-campus was the impetus for moving to GPA eLearning (online learning).
“Although I miss the in-person interaction with the students, the online version has allowed us to include GPA in the curriculum for our Practical Nursing and Community Mental Health programs too,” she said. “This means that about 250 students are learning about GPA every term, i.e., 750 students per year at Niagara College. When we were only able to offer it to our PSW and Gerontology students, we were only reaching 240 students per year.
“We are so grateful to the team at AGE Inc. for their constant work on maintaining a robust, up-to-date certification.”
Advanced Gerontological Education (AGE) Inc. is a national not-for-profit social enterprise that develops and delivers dementia care education. Its practical, evidence-informed Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) curriculum has given more than 500,000 Canadian care providers the knowledge, skills and confidence they need for working with older Canadians living with dementia. Visit www.ageinc.ca.
